Just the other day, I asked an NBA general manager what he expected from the league’s annual predraft confab here, which will be held at the newly rebranded Harrison Street Athletics Facility. The answer: “Probably just talk, mostly. Talking to other [teams] and talking to the players. The actual performances are not that valuable. We get them in our own workouts.”

Still, the predraft combine will go on, starting Thursday, and though it probably will mostly be about talk, there will be some interesting storylines to keep an eye on. They’re right here in fact:

The walking wounded

This week will be as much about getting medical updates and checking in on rehabs as anything. It starts at the top, where potential No. 1 pick Nerlens Noel is coming off the ACL surgery he had in February. Noel won’t do much of anything here in Chicago beyond getting measured, though he will interview with teams and that will give front-office execs the chance to size up what kind of shape Noel has been able to stay in while coming back from the injury. Noel will not be alone in this protocol. Forward Anthony Bennett, possibly a Top 5 pick, underwent surgery on his rotator cuff, an injury he played through in the last few weeks of UNLV’s season. He won’t be here at all. Center Alex Len, a player with whom scouts seem to have a love-hate thing going, is out, too, rehabbing an injured ankle. We’ll also get a look at Lehigh’s C.J. McCollum, whose season was cut short when he suffered a foot injury, but who still might be a lottery pick. There’s also Georgi Dieng, who is still coming back from an ankle injury. Most recently, forward C.J. Leslie suffered a minor hand injury that will keep him out of drills, though he can participate in athletic testing.